If you want to have MySQL’s data directory in a different location or on another disk, move the directory there. If doing so, you’ll need to use an option file (my.ini or my.cnf), and start the server with:shell> {DRIVE:\LOCATION[\..\..]\MySQL SERVER DIRECTORY NAME}\bin\mysqld --defaults-extra-file={DRIVE:\PATH TO}\[my.ini or my.cnf]
Stopping server as mentioned above.

Common problems

If you’re using InnoDB and you get an error on startup like below, you can fix it easily by removing the ibdata1, ibdata2, and the ib_logfile* files from the data directory. After restarting you’ll see newly generated files in mysql’s data directory.

You are using an old server parameter name. Replace ‘mysql-data-dir’ with ‘datadir’ in your my.ini/.cnf and start your server again

Server Settings

To see the values that a server will use based on its compiled-in defaults and any option files that it reads, use this command:mysqld --verbose --help
To get an overview of all server parameters, go to: Tuning Server Parameters. The page will be helpfull with optimizing your server settings.

Option file

Starting MySQL as a service

Before installing MySQL as a Windows service, you should first stop the current server if it is running by using the following command:shell>{DRIVE:\PATH TO MySQL SERVER DIRECTORY NAME}\bin\mysqladmin -u root shutdown

Install the MySQL server as a service
To do so use this command:shell>{DRIVE:\PATH TO MySQL SERVER DIRECTORY NAME}\bin\mysqld --install
or if you are using an option file:shell> {DRIVE:\PATH TO MySQL SERVER DIRECTORY NAME}\bin\mysqld --install MySQL --defaults-file={DRIVE:\PATH TO OPTIONS FILE}
To start the service manual replace --install with --install-manual

Remove service

To remove a server that is installed as a service, first stop it if it is running by executing NET STOP MySQL. Then use the –remove option to remove it:shell> {DRIVE:\PATH TO MySQL SERVER DIRECTORY NAME}\bin\mysqld --remove